The Naked Truth
by Aleia15
Summary: Kakashi had always considered Iruka uninteresting. Then he saved Kakashi's life. Naked. Kakashi/Iruka


**The Naked Truth**

Konoha was far, too far away Kakashi realized with the detached calm that came from being out of options, out of time and, unfortunately, out of chakra. With some luck he would make it to the clearing near the West Gate, make a last stand by the pond, and hope for the best while he dispatched Pakkun in search of reinforcements.

He was close enough that some patrol would probably be around, and he had enough tricks in store to engage his pursuers in the kind of desperate fight he had tried to avoid the entire time.

If he made it out of there alive, he was going to kill Tsunade for sending him on that mission.

Kakashi crashed through the trees, panting heavily and clutching his injured right side. It had been a screw up of a mission from the beginning, and the information given to him had been woefully inaccurate. Three missing nin trying to form a kidnapping ring? More like thirteen, and half of them were now chasing him back to Konoha.

Someone was going to pay for that shoddy research if Kakashi died.

They would pay double if he lived.

He rushed to the water, his ears perked for the sounds of his pursuers while he quickly formed the seals needed to summon his nin-ken. For once in his life Pakkun was silent when he appeared, casting an assessing glance to Kakashi and nodding quietly before taking off running at his short "Reinforcements."

Kakashi was sure he'd never heard the end of it later. If he-

His brain shuddered to a halt when the first of his pursuers entered the clearing, followed closely by three more, all of them approaching Kakashi cautiously. They had learned their lesson before, when Kakashi had disposed of three of their comrades at their base camp, and of two more while retreating. They knew he was injured, they also knew he was dangerous.

Fortunately, they didn't know Kakashi had exhausted his chakra reserves and was close to collapsing.

They fanned around Kakashi, keeping some distance and with their weapons ready. Kakashi got a kunai out of his pouch and took a taijutsu stance, closing his Sharingan eye. It would be over the moment he used a jutsu, so he had to drag the fight with just physical stamina and skill.

He was about to launch the first attack when he heard a noise behind him, darting a quick look in the direction of the pond to ascertain if the two remaining enemies had arrived from that direction.

What he saw was almost enough to make him drop his weapon, and only his training and the fact that he was drained prevented an embarrassing reaction, murdering missing nins notwithstanding.

Naked as the day he was born, Umino Iruka was emerging from the water. Kakashi opened the Sharingan to record the scene for later perusal and enjoyment, knowing he wouldn't have the chance to do it now. He wanted to keep that image burned into his memory, Iruka's bronzed skin glittering under the full moon, the water sliding down a perfect body.

There would be time for it later; now he needed to get rid of his foes so there would be a later.

"Kakashi-san?" Iruka's voice carried in the clearing, thick with disbelief and embarrassment. It lasted a heartbeat, Kakashi felt the moment Iruka's chakra spiked up, gearing up for the fight.

Everything happened too fast from that moment on, and Kakashi had an instant to regret using his Sharingan when he was so depleted at the spike of pain that seared his brain when he moved. The remaining two enemies entered the scene, spurring his companions into movement. Kakashi dodged the first barrage of shuriken sent his way, jumping back and to the side and sending some of his own. They were not meant to it the target, but to force at least one of the enemies away from the group. A fireball forced back some of them, making one crash against a tree and somehow get stuck there.

"Kakashi-san," Iruka's voice reached him, and Kakashi turned an inch while he parried a blow and delivered a kick. Iruka was next to him, an exploding tag in one hand and a kunai in the other, facing Kakashi's enemies in all his naked glory. If the situation hadn't been so dire, it would have made the perfect plot for one of Jiraiya's books. "I have traps set around the perimeter," Iruka said in a low voice, throwing his kunai with perfect aim without pausing in his movements and getting another one out of Kakashi's own pouch. "You need to retreat to the pond so I can activate all of them."

Kakashi nodded to make clear he had understood but didn't move. Iruka disappeared from his side, appearing behind an enemy and delivering a brutal combination of strikes before throwing the exploding tag against another tree. Kakashi parried some blows, trying to dislodge from his brain the image of a naked school teacher moving with the grace of a large feline, the play of muscles on his back and legs, and that incredibly shaped arse. This wasn't the right time to get distracted.

But it was impossible not to, he realized landing with a loud crash against a tree, wheezing. His hand moved reflexively to his right side, the blood dripping from the stab wound faster than before.

"Kakashi-san!" Iruka was by his side in an instant. "How badly injured are you?"

"Badly," Kakashi replied, his breath still too short.

"Chakra reserves?" Iruka asked, showing he knew more about Kakashi's weakness than he had expected him to.

"Depleted," he grated through clenched teeth. Iruka's mouth thinned in a grim line, a short nod all the response he got before his hands grabbed him and they were both teleporting to the pond.

"Don't use your Sharingan," Iruka said, "I got this."

Kakashi grabbed Iruka's arm, the contact with that smooth and wet skin sending a thrill of pleasure up his spine. He frowned, now wasn't the time to have those kind of thoughts. "I can still fight," he protested.

"No you can't, you're about to keel over. This is my pond, I have it covered. I disabled the traps when I felt a comrade coming, I just need to get you out of the way and they will be no threat." Iruka sounded confident and shook Kakashi's grip with no effort, testament of how very exhausted Kakashi was.

"Be careful."

Kakashi watched as Iruka moved between his enemies, who seemed not to have recovered yet from having a naked man attacking them fearlessly. Since there was nothing he could do anymore, Kakashi just stood on the pond, using his last reserve of chakra not to sink, and watched the fight.

It went against everything Kakashi was, just standing on the sidelines and having someone else fight his battles, but he was a realist. He _was_ about to keel over-and Tsunade would probably have his guts for garters for coming back in such condition-and somehow he had the certainty that Iruka could pull this off, and without a great effort.

It took Kakashi just two seconds to re-evaluate the opinion he had of Umino Iruka. He had always considered him attractive but bland, a bureaucrat too concerned with paperwork and probably little field experience.

The man slicing through his enemies completely uncaring of his nudity with an economy of movements to rival Kakashi's looked like he had tons of experience and the skill to back it. He was fit, his tan skin rippling over well defined muscles as he dodged and parried blows, his back bending in a graceful arch to activate a seal on the ground, his powerful legs jumping and kicking. Kakashi realized he had opened the Sharingan again and was recording every single detail when the pain made him squint his eyes, but was unable to force it close.

He might miss something.

There was a blinding flash of white and several thumping noises, and Iruka was moving back towards the pond, the missing nins unmoving on the ground. Seen like that Iruka wasn't just attractive, he was devastatingly stunning. His hair was loose and dripping water on his shoulders, his chest was perfectly sculpted and peppered with scars, sure sign he had seen his fair share of action. There was a thin trail of dark hair running from his navel to his groin, and Kakashi's eyes followed the path happily, staring at Iruka's cock bouncing slightly as he walked back to Kakashi.

He had a moment to be grateful for the blood loss or he would have a very impressive and completely inadequate erection at that moment.

"You really should close your Sharingan, Kakashi-san."

Iruka's voice forced him to look up again, and he smiled sheepishly at being caught ogling the other man so blatantly. He had been so distracted by the view he had not realized Iruka was already next to him.

Kakashi did as ordered, the pain from the chakra depletion catching up with him in a moment and making him falter. He felt himself sink into the pond, two powerful hands picking him and dragging him out before he drowned.

"You are a lucky bastard, Kakashi-san," Iruka said, letting Kakashi fall to the ground and sitting down next to him. "You might have not survived if I hadn't been here."

He was well aware of that, and Kakashi considered himself very fortunate, and not just for surviving. If Iruka hadn't been there at that precise time, Kakashi could have spent the rest of his life working with his man never knowing him.

He was going to fix that. As soon as he was able to stand or possibly speak.

"The sentries will be arriving in a minute, with some help I expect," Iruka continued, "I usually come to this pond at night so they know me and they will have felt my traps being released. They'll guess there's been trouble."

"Are they dead?" Kakashi finally managed, staring at Iruka with his own eye. He felt he should probably point out to Iruka that he was still naked, especially if there was people coming, but he wanted to enjoy the view a bit longer.

"No, that's just a stunning jutsu," Iruka said darting a look at the unconscious figures on the ground. They hadn't stirred a bit. "A very powerful one. Ibiki will be glad we didn't kill them, he'll have new friends to play with." Iruka's grin was nothing short of nasty and completely out of character with the mild-mannered teacher Kakashi had thought him to be before.

He felt himself falling for that smile.

"You know, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said, a smile of his own hidden under his mask. "You're not the way I thought you were."

Iruka looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "How so?"

"For one, I didn't take you for an exhibitionist," Kakashi pointed out with a leer, and was rewarded with the discovery of exactly how deep a blush looked on a tan skin and how far down Iruka's chest the flush went. He also saw a display of speed Kakashi doubted any man still alive had seen.

Iruka was still glaring at him, his gorgeous body unfortunately covered withy his uniform, when Pakkun's bark and some loud footsteps announced the arrival of help.

"Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said hurriedly before they got there. He knew he might lose his nerve once they weren't alone anymore. "Want to have dinner with me after they release me from the hospital?"

Iruka shot him a startled look. "What?" Kakashi saw how his lips pursed and his eyes narrowed, clearly annoyed. "Is that some kind of joke, Kakashi-san? You don't know me."

"No," he shook his head slightly, wincing at the pain. "But after what I've seen, I definitely want to. Any man who can fight like that _naked_ is my kind of man."

Iruka's scowl vanished and he chuckled. "Bugger off, Kakashi-san," Iruka said, and he moved away still chuckling. Kakashi would have been discouraged by the rejection, were it not for the amused and fond look Iruka shot him over his shoulder as he approached the coming group. "It figures, all I needed to do to attract the biggest pervert in Konoha was showing him my arse. I should have done it ages ago." Kakashi heard him mumble, and he closed his eye with a tired smile.

Iruka was definitely his kind of man.

…


End file.
